1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electric vehicles. The invention has particular utility in the case of battery-powered electric vehicles, and will be described in connection with such utility, although other utilities are contemplated. For example, the invention advantageously may be employed in connection with fuel-cell or flywheel-powered electric vehicles, as well as hybrid or the like electric vehicles.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Electric vehicles are being cited with increasing regularity as an answer to the air pollution problems that are plaguing urban areas. Several states in the United States have mandated that by 1998, two percent of the vehicles sold will have to be zero-emission vehicles. currently, the only vehicles that meet this criteria are battery-powered electric vehicles. While several companies are believed to be developing new designs for battery-powered vehicles from the ground up, in order to meet the 1998 zero-emission mandates, manufacturers have looked to converting existing gasoline-powered vehicles. Typical conversion involves removing the gasoline engine, transmission, drive shaft, gas tank, associated gauges and controls, etc. and substituting a battery pack, one or more electric motors, and associated gauges and controls. Also, heavy components such as axles may be replaced with lighter weight components in order to conserve weight.
For a given vehicle, the vehicle's range is substantially directly proportional to the amount of stored electric energy. Thus, the greater the number and size of batteries, the greater the potential range. However, batteries are heavy and bulky. Thus, it is not possible to simply mount all the batteries, for example, in the engine compartment in place of the gasoline engine since this would result in a vehicle that is much too front heavy. Accordingly, it has been an engineering challenge to locate an adequate number of batteries in an electric vehicle conversion.
It is thus an object of the invention to overcome the aforesaid and other disadvantages of the prior art, and to provide an improved battery-powered electric vehicle.